The herring are running in Marstons Mills

Friday

Apr 21, 2017 at 9:35 AMApr 27, 2017 at 5:26 PM

There she was, in waders and waist-deep in water, wielding a chainsaw that matched her red hair and sunglasses, at high noon last Friday.

Barnstable Natural Resource Officer Amy Croteau, along with Three Bays Preservation personnel, is on herring run duty this spring. Low water levels are hindering the spawning river herring from journeying upstream to Mill and Middle ponds and Mystic Lake.

"Part of my job...is to make sure herring have adequate passage," Croteau said. "I came out to cut couple of sections out [of the water root systems] to ease their path."

On Wednesday, Croteau said she and her crew opened the man-made, 1,000-foot flume, or “fishway,” to re-route the herring away from cranberry bogs.

“The fishway is not very efficient when the water’s low,” she said. “We opened up the flume yesterday because we’re going to run out of water eventually. The run has already begun, and we’re getting a large number of [fish] upstream.”

Nevertheless, Croteau said she’s still hoping for rain, because “we need water to get adults back out to the ocean after they’re done spawning.”

The Natural Resources Department is seeking grant money to rebuild the fishway, so that it is better designed to function during low water levels, she said.

With assistance from Three Bays program assistants Meg Materne and Rachel Mingea, Croteau cut big chunks of water plant roots along the Marstons Mills River waterfall at Route 28 and Prince Road.

"The high water level has been decreasing rapidly," Croteau said. "We're still about 8 inches off the ideal level. Any and all rain dances are encouraged.”

This year, Three Bays and the town are collaborating on counting herring. Three Bays is overseeing the Mill Pond count, while the town of Barnstable is conducting the Middle Pond count. Temperature and weather codes determine the timing of the runs, which likely will continue through mid to late May, Croteau said

There are over 100 herring runs in Massachusetts, according to state records, and the Mill Pond run is one of four active runs in Barnstable.

The data collected by volunteer counts is used by state and local officials to make management decisions that could help replenish river herring stock and make more harvesting possible, Croteau said.

“They are what we consider a keystone species,” she said. “They’re not only important indicators of pond and stream health, but they also serve as a very important food source after the long winters for pretty much all of our local wildlife, like osprey, raccoon, fox, river otter.”

Those interested in volunteering to count herring should contact Heather at hrockwell@3bays.org for Mill Pond, or Croteau at amy.croteau@town.barnstable.ma.us for Middle Pond.